French night-time lighting ban comes into effect

From this week, shops, offices and public sector buildings in France will have to turn off unnecessary lighting at night – by law.

The ban on night-time lighting, which the French government passed in January, forces organisations to switch off lights between 1am and 7am. As we reported at the time, the move, introduced by The French ministry of ecology, sustainable development and energy, is expected to save about 2TWh a year.

Any companies that break the rules are expected to recieve fines.

The legislation is expected to save US$258 million (€200 million) in energy costs each year.

Domestic lighting supplier Lights 4 Living said: ‘This is an interesting approach by the French to save energy and tackle the problem of wasteful overnight lighting. The imposing of fines and punishments is a good incentive to think about energy more. This may make others think about their own home lighting and what lights should be left on.’

Lux Review is calling for more countries to follow France’s example. Our deputy editor, Pennie Varvarides, reports from France on the change. Watch the video: